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The Last Poets are a groundbreaking collective with a sound that merges spoken word with jazz and hip hop. They came on the scene in the late sixties with a message of unity, social justice, and empowerment. Their message included frank lyrics about all that was wrong with their world and all that could be done to make it better. They're the godfather's of hip hop
Two of the groups original members Abiodun Oyewole and Umar Bin Hassan have a new album out called "Transcending Toxic Times." It fuses spoken word with jazz rhythms and hip hop. It's wonderful. Show notes

Bullseye

Bullseye is a public radio show about what's good in popular culture. With a keen editorial eye, Bullseye sifts the wheat from the chaff, and brings you hot culture picks, in-depth interviews with the most revered and revolutionary creative people and irreverent original comedy.

Bullseye is equal parts funny and fascinating. Whether you're already plugged in to the culture map, or looking for a signpost, Bullseye will keep you on target. More About Bullseye

Jake Weisman and Matt Ingebretson on their new Comedy Central show 'Corporate'

Technically, the new Comedy Central show Corporate is a workplace comedy. But it's so much darker, weirder and universal than that. The show follows the lives of Jake and Matt, two junior executives in training at Hampton Deville. Every character on the show is a little depressed and angry about working for a soul-sucking giant multinational corporation. Matt and Jake have just enough power and money to keep working there, but not enough to make any real impact in the company. Corporate goes beyond your standard office comedy and dives into deeper themes like the capitalism, art, suicide, and even the meaninglessness of life. Corporate has a great supporting cast including Lance Reddick, Anne Dudek, Aparna Nancherla, and Baron Vaughn. Deadpan humor and satire is tough, but Corporate really nails it.

Jesse sat down with co-creators and stars of Corporate Jake Weisman and Matt Ingebretson to talk about getting the shows tone right, what it was like pitching the show to a corporation, and why they cast Lance Reddick, who played Cedric Daniels on The Wire to play the CEO of Hampton Deville. Plus, they talk about how magic mushrooms helped them write some of the episodes -- you don't wanna miss that!

Mimi Pond is a cartoonist whose work has appeared in the National Lampoon, the LA Times, and the New York Times. For almost a decade she had a regular full page comic in Seventeen Magazine. She's also a television writer. Mimi wrote one of the most iconic episodes of the Simpsons ever made: "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire." In that episode, Homer doesn't get a Christmas bonus from Mr.Burns and Homer gets a job at the mall as Santa to pay for holiday expenses. The episode introduced us to the Simpson's family dog, Santa's Little Helper. That episode also introduced the world to the Simpsons -- it was the first episode of The Simpsons to air on television. Mimi's also written for Pee-Wee's Playhouse and Designing Women.

Before all that, Mimi worked at a handful of diners in the 70's as a waitress. She's written two graphic novels loosely based on her time as a server. The first was "Over Easy" in 2014 and the most recent is "The Customer is Always Wrong." We asked her to tell us about the craziest day of her career, and she had a lot to say about one particular dinner shift when the head cook disappeared.

Finally, for this week's Outshot: "Understanding Comics" by Scott McCloud. It's a graphic novel about understanding comic books that assumes you know nothing about comics. If you've never picked up a comic book before this is a good place to start.

Emily Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani on writing a romcom based on their lives

[R]Emily Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani co-wrote the Judd Apatow produced romantic comedy The Big Sick. It's a sweet, hilarious and truthful story about how the two of them fell in love, tossing all of the classic romantic comedy tropes out of the window. Kumail and Emily come from really different backgrounds; Kumail's from Pakistan. Emily: North Carolina. The film tells their story of finding each other after navigating Kumail's family's traditional views on marriage and an illness that almost breaks them apart.

Before Emily Gordon was writing screenplays and making films, she was a therapist, working with mentally challenged individuals. After over 5 years working as a therapist, she realized that she needed to change careers, moving on to writing full time, and contributing to online and print magazines.

Most people know Kumail Nanjiani as Dinesh on Mike Judge's HBO hit, Silicon Valley. He's also been on Broad City, Newsreaders, and voices characters on Adventure Time. He has been a stand-up comic for a long time and in 2013, got a Comedy Central stand up special called Beta Male.

Jesse, Kumail, and Emily talk about what it was like making a movie about their real life relationship, and about the changes that were made from the first draft to the one that we see in cinemas. They also talk about learning to let go of their story to other people in the creative group, and the first time they showed the movie to their parents.

There's a certain kind of feeling to the director Michel Gondry's films. A little bit of happiness mixed with sadness. Nostalgia for something that you experienced, or maybe something you wish you had experienced. You may have felt it watching Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep, or Mood Indigo.

For "The Song That Changed My Life", Gondry describes the feeling of saudade and how he felt watching Nico Ferrer perform the song "Le Sud" on a Saturday night.

Michel's currently working on a big new project - it's a TV series called Kidding and it's set to star Catherine Keener, Jim Carrey, Frank Langella and more. It'll be on Showtime later this year.

If you've seen Allison Janney on television lately, it's been in one of two very different roles. On the Showtime series Masters of Sex, Janney played as a somewhat naive, vulnerable 1950s housewife who experiences a breakthrough after many years in a sexless (but not loveless) marriage. Her story is both heartbreaking and hopeful. In the CBS sitcom Mom, she plays Bonnie, a recovering alcoholic who's outrageous, biting, and very funny. Bonnie's been down, but she's making peace with her estranged daughter and getting her life back together. Janney's characterizations are versatile; they allow her to be warm, steely, confident, and thin-skinned by turns. Janney has won Emmys for both roles. She's just been nominated for her first Academy Award ever for her role in I, Tonya, the Tonya Harding biopic.

She spoke to us in 2014 about her early acting days (including auditioning for an intimidatingly handsome Paul Newman), getting comfortable with the inevitable nude scenes for Masters of Sex, and the ways that her mom's background and brother's struggle with addiction gave her insight and empathy for her current roles.

Natasha Leggero and Riki Lindhome on their Comedy Central television show 'Another Period'

"Another Period" returns to Comedy Central this week. The show is set in Newport, Rhode Island and follows the lives of the Bellacourt sisters at the turn of the 20th century. The format of the show follows the familiar and popular structure of reality tv. It's sort of like "Keeping up with the Kardashians" meets "Downton Abbey." They do what a lot of aristocrats did back then, which is nothing, basically.

The show was co-created by Natasha Leggero and Riki Lindhome, they play Lillian and Beatrice Bellacourt respectively. The sisters have a particular obsession with fame and go to great lengths to stir drama and obtain as much stardom as one could in the gilded age. "Real-life" characters often get tangled in the Bellacourts lives like Sigmund Freud and Mark Twain. In one episode, they enlist the help of Harriet Tubman for a lesson on marketing their image. Another episode, sees the sisters get in a literal fist fight with Helen Keller. The show is over the top, subversive, weird and chock full of absinthe references!

Jesse sat down with Natasha Leggero and Riki Lindhome to talk about embedding history into the show, the guilty pleasures of reality tv, and the time they were guests on the Today Show with a very drunk Celine Dion.

Greg Broussard better known as Egyptian Lover got his start as a DJ for Uncle Jamm's Army, a hip-hop crew based in Los Angeles. In 1984, Uncle Jamm's Army released a 12 inch single via Freak Beat Records. On Side A of that single was: "Dial A Freak." and Side B was : "Yes Yes Yes." Both tracks were produced by Egyptian Lover. The tracks received a lot of local play at huge parties thrown by Uncle Jamm's Army. At one point the venues they were filling up included the Hollywood Palladium and the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

As a solo artist Egyptian Lover has released nine albums, mixing Kraftwerk, Prince, a little bit of G-Funk every now and then, too. His latest, "1984" was released in 2015 on his label Egyptian Empire Records "1984." The official music video for the track "Killin' It" is insane. It reminds us of that Treehouse of Horror episode where Homer gets sucked into the 3rd dimension, and he says everything looks like the movie Tron. But instead Egyptian Lover transports us to his version the 80s -- a total throwback to the aesthetic of the decade, with glossy computer graphics, rectangular prisms, polished sports cars and all!

Jesse talks with the Egyptian Lover about the most iconic instrument in hip-hop: the Roland TR 808, and how the group Kraftwerk helped him meet his wife.

Finally, for this week's Outshot: television show "Detectorists." It's about a pair of guys with metal detectors, wandering through the English countryside looking for gold. While they don't exactly find the treasures they're looking for they do find out something more meaningful about themselves in the process.

Director Rian Johnson on 'The Last Jedi' and working with Carrie Fisher on her last film

The force is strong with this week's guest! Writer and director of "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," Rian Johnson joins us in the studio to talk about making the blockbuster and putting himself in the head of characters like Luke Skywalker to write a compelling story.

Rian Johnson first broke through as a writer and director with 2005's "Brick." It's kind of a Coen brothers inspired film starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The film is set in an Orange County suburb, and it's sort of a neo-noir where most of the main characters are high school students. The tone of the film is eerie and dark, the dialogue is quick and snappy, and most important of all -- it's a great detective story.

Before "Brick," he was an editor for the creepy cult film "May," released in 2002. Other writing and directing credits include the sci-fi thriller "Looper," and the heist film comedy "The Brothers Bloom." He also directed a few of the most memorable Breaking Bad episodes.

When Rian sat down with Jesse they spoke extensively about "The Last Jedi." Including what it was like working with Carrie Fisher on her last film, how he received the offer to direct "The Last Jedi," and why he thought it was important that "Star Wars" be funny.

This segment will include some spoilers to the film, but honestly, if you haven't seen "The Last Jedi" by now you are practically asking for spoilers. You have been warned!

Jesse talks with Ian Parton and Ninja of The Go! Team. They're the band that made the Bullseye theme song -- "Huddle Formation."

Formed in the year 2000 in Brighton, England, the band's basically the brainchild of Ian Parton. He recorded a lot of the band's first record in his parent's kitchen and released it as "Thunder, Lightning, Strike." A classic Go! Team track has a lot of influences: hip hop, marching band music, noise rock, 70s soul. A lot of the songs are sample based but they still sound live and fresh. One of Ian's longest running collaborators is the MC Ninja, born Nkechi Ka Egenamba. She's sung and rapped on every Go! Team record.

Ian tells Jesse about his creative process, and what it was like writing the smash hit "Roudou Sanka" by Japanese pop group Momoiro Clover Z. Ninja discusses what it was like when she first heard The Go! Team, and how she brings the music to life on stage.

The Go! Team will be touring this Spring, and their new album "Semicircle" will be released on January 19. For more information visit their website.

The Outshot: Sylvester

Finally, for this week's Outshot: singer-songwriter Sylvester. Jesse tells us about the life of a disco, rhythm and blues, and soul singer with a fabulous stage presence. "Mighty Real" was Sylvester's signature hit. The song was about authenticity. It's hard to imagine him bringing anything but realness.

Errol Morris on his new Netflix "hybrid" documentary series 'Wormwood'

Errol Morris is a legendary filmmaker with dozens of tv and film credits. In 2004, his film "The Fog of War" won an Oscar for best documentary film. Perhaps Morris is best known for his unique interview style, and his invention of the interrotron, which allows his subjects to see him while they are being filmed straight on. And of course, he is known for yelling questions off screen to his subjects.

Morris has a way of painting portraits of people in his films that's incredibly vulnerable. A perfect example of this is his first documentary "Gates of Heaven" released in 1978. It’s a film about pet cemeteries, and the connection people feel to their deceased pets. The documentary told through interviews of pet owners, and it's unnarrated. Some of his films, like "The Thin Blue Line" try to find objective truth. That film ultimately helped secure a innocent man's freedom from prison.

His films are nuanced, they're funny, they're tragic, and always fascinating. His latest project is a six-part miniseries for Netflix called "Wormwood." The series explores the CIA LSD experiments in the late 1950's, and the effects on a man named Frank Olson, a CIA employee and biochemist, who inexplicably jumped out a window to his death from a New York Hotel room in 1953. The story is mostly told through interviews of Frank’s son, Eric, who's worked for years to uncover the truth. The series is kind of a departure for Errol's signature style -- it blends dramatic reenactments and real life interviews.

Errol sits down with Jesse and they discuss the nature of truth, camera angles, and his new documentary, "Wormwood."

Merrill Garbus of the band Tune-Yards on the song that changed her life -- "Moliva" by Johnny Clegg. Tune-Yards will be touring this Spring, and their new album "I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life" will be released on January 19. For more information visit their website.

Finally, for this week's Outshot: "The Commitments." Jesse tells us about a film his father and stepmother loved. Jesse never saw the film as a teenager. Few weeks ago, Jesse bought the VHS tape at a thrift store, and it turns out his dad and my stepmother had every right to love the 1991 film "The Commitments."

[R] Terry Crews is the kind of performer that has his hand in all different facets of the entertainment industry. He starred alongside Ice Cube in the Friday After Next, played Chris Rock's Dad on Everybody Hates Chris, and he played the president in Idiocracy. Now he's Andy Samberg's co-star on Brooklyn Nine Nine as Sergeant Jeffords. He was also the screaming muscle man in all those Old Spice ads. But, before all that, Terry was a football player from Flint, Michigan - like not just high school and college - he played on four NFL teams over 5 years. He was picked by the LA Rams in the 11th round of the 1991 NFL Draft, and in 1996 he played his last season ever for the Eagles.

Terry and Jesse discuss football, and the culture that surrounds the player in training and on the field. They discuss what life was like for Terry after leaving the NFL, and how that time shaped his relationship to fitness. They also discuss his childhood, his relationship to success, and why he works so much.

Canonball with Marc Weingarten and Tyson Cornell: King Crimson’s 'In The Court of the Crimson King'

Every so often we like to take a closer look at albums that should be considered classics, to find out what makes them great. It's Canonball.

No one says The Rolling Stones don’t belong in the pop music canon. But what about Genesis? Or Yes? What about the prog rockers? The music wasn’t down and dirty, and the songs weren’t pop-radio short. Sometimes they were downright long. But prog has always had its loyalists.

This week Marc Weingarten and Tyson Cornell, the editors of the prog rock anthology Yes Is The Answer: (And Other Prog Rock Tales), explain why the King Crimson album In The Court of the Crimson King is a classic, and how it laid the foundation for a whole genre. They’ll explain how these classically trained musicians mixed flutes, horns, blues riffs, and synthesizers to create this face melting album.

Jessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham of 'Playing House': Improv in the writers' room, and showing realistic friendships on television.

Jessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham play best friends on TV, and if their on-screen chemistry seems real, it is. They met doing improv comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, and have been writing partners ever since. They co-created and star in Playing House, a sitcom about female friendship that's more reminiscent of Lucy and Ethel than it is Carrie Bradshaw's gang.

Playing House follows Emma and Maggie, two women who have been friends forever. Maggie stayed in their hometown, got married, and is expecting a baby. Emma has been professionally ambitious, closing business deals in Shanghai, and hasn't been back to visit for what must be years.

Parham and St. Clair join us to talk about the marathon improv sessions that produce the show's jokes, and their real-life friendship.

It's that time of year again! The Bullseye team listened to hours of comedy from the past year and picked the absolute best for you to enjoy in one convenient episode. There was a lot of great stuff this year. Our list includes industry veterans, newcomers and lesser know talents you are going to love. This was no easy task -- please let us know who else should have made the cut @Bullseye or on Facebook!

Like what you hear? Click through to learn more information on these comedians. For your convenience links to buy their albums have also been provided below:

[R] Andy Richter probably best known for being Conan's O'Brien's sidekick, but he's been a comedian for almost 30 years. You've probably seen him in Madagascar, Arrested Development, or maybe you watched his Emmy nominated TV series: Andy Richter Controls the Universe. Andy sits down with Jesse to talk about the dealing with the holidays, and his favorite holiday specials.

Journalist and novelist Margaret Wappler and digital strategist Wynter Mitchell are hosts on Bullseye’s sister show, Pop Rocket. This week, they sit down with Jesse to talk about their favorite Christmas films. Some of them will surprise you. You can find every episode of Pop Rocket and more information about the show here.

The brothers from the Maximum Fun produced advice show and podcast, My Brother, My Brother and Me field some questions from listeners, and give some holiday advice. If you need more from the McElroy's check out their television series of the same name on streaming service VRV.

Emmy and Golden Globe award winner Jane Lynch is best known for her hilarious portrayal of Sue Sylvester on ABC’s Glee, and if you've seen a Christopher Guest movie, odds are her's was the funniest character. Last year, she's teamed up with Kate Flannery and Tim Davis on A Swingin' Little Christmas, a big-bad era inspired Christmas album. Jane Lynch sits down with Jesse to talk about that album, her arms-length relationship with Christmas, and what it was like for her to come out as gay after comedians like Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O'Donnell paved the way.

If you're in Los Angeles you can see her perform songs from her Christmas album at Largo at the Coronet on Wednesday, December 20.

Judd Apatow is responsible for some of the funniest films and television shows of the past two decades. He got his start in Hollywood mostly by working behind the scenes - he was a writer on “The Larry Sanders Show,” a showrunner on “The Ben Stiller Show” and served as an executive producer on the short-lived NBC cult classic “Freaks and Geeks.”

Apatow has also produced movies like “Bridesmaids” and “Superbad,” and has written and directed plenty of features too, including, “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Funny People,” “This Is 40,” and “Knocked Up.”

One of Judd’s true passions is stand-up comedy. When he was a teenager he worked at the East Side Comedy Club in Long Island. Back then he brushed shoulders with comics like Eddie Murphy and Rosie O’Donnell. In 1992, he was featured on HBO’s “Young Comedians Special.” In it, he shares the stage with Ray Romano and Andy Kindler.

Judd Apatow’s new Netflix stand-up special is appropriately called “Judd Apatow: The Return,” it marks his return to stand-up after more than 20 years. His material is sincere and relatable just like many of his films. In the special, he reads terrible poetry he wrote as a teenage to get the crowd going, he jokes about the disastrous time he threw the first pitch for the New York Mets, and he imagines what would happened if he ever decided to smoke pot with his kids. Need we say more!

Jesse talks with Judd about the new comedy special, and why it’s important to him to consciously choose to make his projects more inclusive and diverse.

Romesh Ranganathan on how his family's immigrant history informed his comedy

You might not know Romesh Ranganathan yet, but in the UK he’s a big celebrity best known for his stand-up comedy. He’s been a regular on spin offs of “The Great British Bake Off” and “The Apprentice.”

Romesh also hosts a travel show on the BBC called “Asian Provocateur.” In it, he travels around the world reconnecting with his parents’ home country of Sri Lanka. In the second season, Romesh travels to various locations in North America to meet more of his relatives, and his mother, Shanthi, tags along for his adventure.

The highlights of the show often feature Shanthi. She will stop at nothing to chide Romesh whenever she gets a chance. It’s really funny -- dare we say his mom is funnier than him. And Romesh knows this -- his relationship with his hilarious mother often drives much of his stand-up routine.

With hopes of making it big in the states; Romesh just moved to America with his wife, kids, and of course, his mother. He has an upcoming performance at the Greek Theater on Thursday December, 21, and tickets are still available. Romesh’s new comedy special, “Irrational,” was recorded at London's Hammersmith Apollo, and is available now. He hosts a podcast called "Hip Hop Saved My Life."

Jesse talks with Romesh about his love of hip-hop, and what it's like going from crying once a month in a corporate bathroom stall to selling out concert halls in London.

Finally, for this week's Outshot: Dr. Spaceman. 30 Rock was a show with a thousand nearly perfect jokes. But there was only one most perfect joke among all those nearly perfect jokes. Jesse talks about what makes Chris Parnell’s portrayal Dr. Spaceman a very good bad doctor.

J.K. Simmons on his career, musical theater and what it’s like to be made into an action figure

J.K. Simmons never imagined he would work in film or television. In 1978, he graduated from the University of Montana with a degree in music. Many years later he put that degree to use for the Broadway musical revival of “Guys and Dolls” with his portrayal of Benny Southstreet.

His mainstream breakthrough performance didn’t occur until 1997. For six seasons, he played a neo-nazi named Vernon Schillinger on the HBO prison drama “Oz.” The groundbreaking program was the first hour-long drama produced by HBO. It was also one of the most graphic and violent shows on television at the time. In 2015, J.K. Simmons starred alongside Miles Teller in the movie “Whiplash,” directed by Damien Chazelle. His performance earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of a ruthless, sadistic jazz instructor.

He's also known for his portrayal of John Jonah Jameson, the editor of the Daily Bugle in the Spiderman. Simmons’ portrayal is bombastic, unrelentless, and one of the best sources of comic relief in that series. It’s a performance that’s not many degrees away from the rage he channeled in “Oz,” but is done with a sort of charm that only J.K. could pull off.

J.K. Simmons stars in the new drama The Bachelors. In it, Simmons plays a math teacher named Bill Palet. Bill just lost his wife, and he's trying to move past it. One day Bill wakes up, and decides it’s time for a big change. Bill and his son, Wes, move out to California where Bill takes a job at a private school. Jesse talks with J.K. Simmons about the new film, musical theater, and of course, the John Jonah Jameson action figure (with Desk Pounding Action™).

Solomon Georgio made his television debut on CONAN in 2015. Since then he has appeared on The Meltdown with Jonah & Kumail, Viceland's Flophouse and Last Call with Carson Daly. His writing credits include contributions to “Adam Ruins Everything” on TruTV and “Spongebob Squarepants” on Nickelodeon.

He’s from Seattle, via Fresno, via St. Louis, Via Sudan and then Ethiopia, where his parents are from. These days he lives in Los Angeles. Sometimes his stand-up is vulnerable and sincere, talking about childhood trauma. But then he'll strike a pose and make an outrageous joke about his perfect thigh gap and like magic - you believe him. It’s that kind of charisma that gives him a unique presence on stage.

Earlier this year he got his own half-hour Comedy Central special. On the same day he released his debut record - Homonegro Superior, one of our favorites this year. Jesse talks with Solomon about his new comedy album, what it was like to come out to his parents as gay and what it was like to come out as a stand-up comedian.

Finally, for this week's Outshot: Jesse talks about “Child of the Ghetto” by Ghetto Dependent. The record came out in 2001 via Bad Boy Records. One highlight is the track “Everyday,” which relays some of the most realistic portrayals of being broke.